Hurricanes to Cut $44M From JetBlue Revenue

The recent string of hurricanes created some turbulence for JetBlue Airways, which said Wednesday that revenue and profit for the second half of the year would be hit by the weather.The airline said that on a preliminary basis, the hurricanes negatively impacted third-quarter revenue by about $44...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 11, 2017

E-Commerce to Power Walmart Sales in 2019

Wal-Mart Stores shares rose to the highest level in two years on Tuesday after the retailer predicted continued strong growth in online sales as it competes aggressively with Amazon.The Walmart chain’s U.S. e-commerce sales increased 60% in the last quarter, reflecting its efforts to integrate br...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 10, 2017

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Tax policy shifts: What CFOs need to know to stay ahead

Discover how evolving tax policies are creating new opportunities and challenges for CFOs.

By CFO.com staff

Metric of the Month: Hurricane-Proof Accounts Receivable

Delays in accounts receivable (AR) equal less working capital and liquidity, making AR one area where improving efficiency can pay off exponentially. One measure of an efficient process is the number of people it takes to get the work done: The fewer the people it takes to do the job, the more li...

By Michael Hinson • Oct. 9, 2017

JOBS Act Causes Post-IPO Volatility: Study

New research lends credence to concerns that there are inadequate protections for investors in companies that go public under the JOBS Act, resulting in higher risk premiums for issuers.The Jumpstart our Business Startups Act was signed into law in 2012 in the hope of spurring job creation by eas...

By David McCann • Oct. 6, 2017

Investors Uneasy Over Costco Profit Growth

Shares of Costco Wholesale have fallen more than 7% since Amazon announced its acquisition of Whole Foods and Costco’s latest quarterly earnings report didn’t do much to ease investors’ concerns.For the fourth quarter, net income attributable to Costco rose to $919 million, or $2.08 per share, fr...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 6, 2017

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending Oct. 6

Joshua Smiley has been promoted to the top finance spot at Eli Lilly and Co., effective Jan. 1. Smiley, who is currently treasurer and senior vice president of finance, takes over for the retiring Derica Rice.Xia Liu Xia Liu has been named CFO and treasurer at Georgia Power, an electric subsidiar...

By Joan Urdang • Oct. 6, 2017

EU Finds Amazon’s $294M Tax Break Illegal

Striking another blow against tax breaks for Silicon Valley giants, the European Commission has ruled that Luxembourg improperly allowed Amazon to avoid taxes on three quarters of its profits.The ruling follows a three-year investigation into a tax benefit that Luxembourg initially granted Amazon...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 4, 2017

Directorship Gains and Pains

Running finance at a large, publicly traded company is, of course, a big job with long hours and little downtime. So why would a CFO want to expend time and energy serving on the board of another company? Turns out there are many reasons—intellectual stimulation, skills building, an education in ...

By David McCann • Oct. 4, 2017

The Best Path Forward

“Money is everything,” goes the old saw, and in the current economy, many U.S. companies are swimming in it. The pile of cash held by U.S. corporations is more than $2 trillion and growing, stoked by low-cost bond issues, stringent cost-cutting, and sizable profits. But success brings its own cha...

By Russ Banham • Oct. 3, 2017

Paychex’ HR Services Fuel 4% Revenue Jump

Shares in Paychex rose more than 3% on Tuesday after the payroll processing services provider beat quarterly earnings estimates and forecast continued strong revenue growth in its HR outsourcing and services business.For the first quarter, Paychex posted net income of $227.8 million, or 63 cents ...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 3, 2017

McCormick Posts 9% Sales Gain, Earnings Beat

Shares in McCormick jumped more than 5% after the spice company posted better-than-expected earnings on continued strength in its consumer and industrial businesses.The acquisition of Reckitt Benckiser Foods, the maker of Frank’s RedHot sauce and French’s mustard, helped fuel a 9% gain in McCormi...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 29, 2017

Uber Scraps Money-Losing Leasing Business

Uber is shutting down its U.S. car-leasing business after it turned out to be losing far more money than expected.Xchange Leasing was launched two years ago as a way to get drivers with bad or no credit to drive for Uber. It was expected to lose an average of $500 per car but managers recently in...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 28, 2017

Hurricanes Hit Sherwin-Williams’ Q3 Outlook

Paint maker Sherwin-Williams reduced its third-quarter outlook on Thursday, predicting that store closures resulting from the recent string of hurricanes would cost it from $50 million to $70 million in sales.The company also expects costs related to clean up and recovery efforts and tightened su...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 28, 2017

Why You Should Take the “F” Out of FP&A

It wasn’t too long ago that a company with strong investment in and focus on financial planning and analysis (FP&A) was thought to be ahead of the competitive curve. But now, according to one source, companies shouldn’t even be involved in FP&A.What’s that? No planning? No analysis?Well, ...

By David McCann • Sept. 28, 2017

Animal Proteins Beef up Cargill’s Q1 Results

Agribusiness giant Cargill posted a 14% increase in quarterly profit as growing consumer demand for beef offset depressed prices for grain and other commodities.Cargill’s first-quarter net income rose to $973 million from $852 million a year ago while adjusted operating profit rose 7% to $888 mil...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 27, 2017

How AI Impacts the Tax Function

Imagine you’re on a business trip. You pull off the highway, buy a donut and coffee, then head to your next meeting. Sounds like a routine expenditure, but it’s still important to your company’s tax function. The good news: There’s now an opportunity to use artificial intelligence to automate the...

By Michael Shehab • Sept. 27, 2017

How to Design an Intelligent Organization

“Intelligent Automation” is such a new term that you won’t find it in Wikipedia or Merriam-Webster. However, we are clearly in the early stages of a technological transformation that’s no less dramatic than the one spurred by the emergence of the Internet.A new age in quantitative and empirical m...

By James Bone • Sept. 27, 2017

SEC Eases Compliance with Pay Ratio Rule

New guidance on the CEO pay ratio rule, released last week by the Securities and Exchange Commission, brings significant relief to companies concerned about the possible high costs of compliance.It does nothing, however, to answer persistent questions as to whether a company’s disclosure of its p...

By David McCann • Sept. 26, 2017

Carnival Posts Record Earnings, Rosy Outlook

Carnival Corp. shares jumped on Tuesday after the world’s largest cruise ship operator reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and offered a positive outlook despite the hurricanes in the Caribbean.For the third quarter, Carnival’s revenue climbed 8% to $5.5 billion, its strongest growth...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 26, 2017

M&A Opportunities Abound — If Companies Lower Their Bar

Where are the mergers and acquisitions?Consumer confidence is high. Equity values have been climbing for years, and the markets have seen a significant bump since the presidential election, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing 22% and the Nasdaq Composite 24% [as of Sept. 19].Bain’s Dal...

By Dale Stafford • Sept. 25, 2017

Companies Piling Losses onto Balance Sheets

Companies may be managing earnings by shifting potential income-statement losses to the other comprehensive income (OCI) part of their balance sheets, the authors of a new study of OCI find.Charles Mulford The report’s authors, Georgia Tech accounting professor Charles Mulford and graduate studen...

By David Katz • Sept. 25, 2017

Carmax Rides Gulf Storms, Stock Rises 7.6%

Carmax on Friday posted better-than-expected quarterly results that showed minimal impact from Hurricane Harvey and sent its stock up more than 7%.The largest U.S. used-car retailer said earnings increased 16.7% to 98 cents per share, while net sales rose 9.7% to $4.39 billion. Analysts had expec...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 22, 2017

Weak Yogurt Sales Add to General Mills’ Woes

General Mills shares fell sharply on Wednesday after the company reported disappointing quarterly earnings amid weak demand for cereal and yogurt.For the first quarter, General Mills’ overall sales declined 4% to $3.8 billion, reflecting not only a 7% drop in U.S. cereal sales but also a double-d...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 20, 2017

Best Buy 4-Year Outlook Disappoints Investors

Best Buy shares fell for a second straight day on Wednesday, reflecting investor disappointment over the company’s financial outlook for the next four years.On its investor day, the consumer electronics retailer said Tuesday it expects enterprise revenue to increase to $43 billion in fiscal 2021 ...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 20, 2017

New Credential, Standards Add Value to Valuations

Companies that issue financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, and users of the financials, would benefit from a more rigorous, consistent, and efficient approach to valuation for financial-reporting purposes.Now that benefit is at hand, via a new professional credential — along with mor...

By Michael Aronow and Joan D'Uva • Sept. 19, 2017